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Weak Field

I know some netroots types are frustrated that the Democratic field hasn’t yielded The Perfect Nominee, but I think it’s a pretty solid set of choices all things considered. This is what a weak field looks like:

I keep meaning to recommend Noah Millman’s post on this pointing out that there’s no reason a field full of somewhat heterodox candidates needs to be weak. The Republicans could be having an interesting debate about the nature of conservatism and the direction of their party. But they’re not:

In fact, there is no ideological fighting going on, except between Ron Paul and the rest of the field. Instead, the GOP is engaged in an identity-politics-driven contest. The GOP is not debating what it stands for, nor is it a party that knows what it stands for and is looking for the best candidate to win a general election and/or to effectively carry out the party’s program. The GOP is not trying to find a leader for the party. It is looking for a candidate who is the incarnation of the party. No wonder they’re having a tough time.

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It’s as if the heterodox candidates arrived four or right years too early, before the party was ready to hear that the old strategy isn’t working any more.